Photoplays

The motion picture palaces, as they are not very exaggeratedly termed by their publicity representatives, are greatly favoured by transient visitors because of the varied and continuous nature of their offerings. Music, dancing, a popular comedian, all add their piquant sauces to the main dish of the motion picture. So popular, indeed, has this kind of entertainment become that the number of straight vaudeville houses in New York has dwindled to one or two.…Roxy, genial showman of the radio, knows how to put together a good programme, and his theatre is in exceptional good taste, for all its crimson and gilt. Even its monstrous organ, which takes three musicians to operate, seems to fit naturally into the large-scale personality of the theatre. The Capitol, the Strand, the Rialto, the Rivoli, to mention only a few of the cinema houses whose electric signs help make the Great White Way the scintillating thoroughfare it is, are also favourites. Luxurious lounges, collegebred ushers, ice-cooled air
in summer, account partly for the popularity of these places.…

Judging the Movies

William Morris Houghton was Judge ’s motion picture critic. Here is his rundown from the Christmas 1925 issue:
There is always a reverse side to every joy. That of seeing “The Big Parade” is no exception. It makes the movies that come after seem unusually thin and pale and unwholesome. So what 1 have to say about Cecil DeMille’s “The Road to Yesterday,” among others, should be read in the light of that fact. There is a train wreck in it that is amazingly realistic and must involve some very ingenious photography, but the cheap story-book reconstruction of ye anciente tymes, the almost incessant kissing and the use of the religious motif for melodramatic effect still affect my digestion. Please pass the soda mints.

The Knockout —Milton Sills well cast as a gentleman pug.

Go West — Buster Keaton and about three hearty laughs.

Compromise —Irene Rich deserves a better picture.

The Vanishing American — But not the 100 per cent. American.

Little Annie Rooney —Saccharinely yours, Mary.

A Regular Fellow —Very funny take off on the prince business.

The Dark Angel —A sentimental war picture beautifully handled.

Souls for Satan —So poor it’s funny.

The Midshipman —Annapolis as it ain’t.

Seven Keys to Baldpate — Douglas MacLean does this famous comedy very well.

Lights of Old Broadway …Marion Davies in the gay life of yesteryear.

Classified — Corinne Griffith and the three musketeers — Love, Virtue and Coincidence.

The Eagle — Valentine with Russian dressing.

Stage Struck — Our Gloria in engaging comedy.

Lord Jim — Not Conrad, but worth seeing.

Stella Dallas — Well cast drama full of flubdub.

The Big Parade — The almost perfect picture. Don’t miss it.